(Clearwisdom.net) On January 31, 2009, Ming Pao Newspaper-US East Daily ceased publication, following instructions from its Hong Kong headquarters to "drop its tail to survive." On February 25, Ming Pao Newspaper-US West Daily also stopped publication. Several days earlier, on the evening of February 9, 2009, a building attached to the north side of the new CCTV building in Beijing caught fire and burned for almost six hours. On the surface, these are two separate and unrelated incidents, but when examined more closely, there is something both incidents have in common.
According to reports issued in 2001 by the Jamestown Foundation, an independent non-profit organization based in the US, Ming Pao Newspaper was one of the many Chinese media in America that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempted to control. The Jamestown Foundation's report pointed out that, as more and more Chinese immigrants came to the US, the Chinese Communist Party used different ways to control overseas Chinese newspapers, television stations, and radio stations, and they used economic ties to influence the independent media that had business relations with China. They purchased broadcast time and advertising space from existing independent media and provided free, ready-to-go programming and content. They even deployed government personnel to work in the independent media, thereby influencing decision-making from within the ranks of these organizations.
China Brief, a publication of the Jamestown Foundation, reported, "Employees at Ming Pao's New York office have told sources that their 'true boss' is none other than the Chinese Consulate [in New York], and that they were obligated to do whatever the Consulate asked."
The CCTV fire incident put the station in an awkward position, since it has been claiming that it would do more live reporting and broadcasting. In fact, CCTV didn't even cover the story of its own fire in a timely fashion. Instead, it covered news about a fire in Australia in order to shift the focus away from itself. The CCP Central Committee's Propaganda Department (CPD), which controls all of China's media, issued an order to restrict reporting of the CCTV fire. The next day, the CPD-controlled Xinhua News website reported in detail a fire tragedy that occurred in Korea, in which a traditional Lantern Festival celebration caused a fire and stampede. This is yet another example of how CCTV, as a CCP mouthpiece, deceives the Chinese people by not correctly reporting incidents that relate to itself and veils real issues that pertain to the CCP.
Ironically, thousands of people in Beijing witnessed the fire, and bystanders were applauding the incident. Many Internet articles discussed the CCTV fire with enthusiasm. One might ask, "Where was the Chinese people's patriotism and sympathy? How could they applaud the fire, which ruined the enormous CCTV building complex that had cost the taxpayers over 40 billion yuan (approx. $500 million)? Why were they indifferent towards the fire?"
Apparently, people are disgusted by CCTV's ongoing deceptions and fabricated news. CCTV is indeed just a mouthpiece and political tool of the CCP that has been fabricating news to achieve political goals for a long time. Falsified "live broadcasts," fake disaster reports, and forged routine news reports have become the CCTV's unique "brand identity."
For example, during the 2001 Chinese New Year, CCTV staged a "self-immolation" event to frame Falun Gong and to instigate hatred amongst the Chinese people against Falun Gong. Under the guidance of high-ranking CCP officials, CCTV carefully arranged the filming and editing of the staged "self-immolation" incident. In the footage produced by CCTV, Wang Jindong, the alleged Falun Gong practitioner, had a plastic Sprite bottle containing gasoline between his legs. When he was allegedly engulfed in flames, the plastic bottle was not damaged. A policeman then held a fire blanket as he walked behind Wang Jindong but did not put the blanket over Wang Jindong until he had finished speaking to the camera.
After analyzing the CCTV video footage by viewing it at an extremely slow speed, many suspicious details surfaced, clearly indicating that the "self-immolation" incident was staged. The International Education Development office (IED) made an official statement about this incident at the United Nations on August 14, 2001, strongly condemning the CCP's "state terrorism activities." The statement pointed out that the so-called "Tiananmen Self Immolation Incident" was, in fact, staged to frame Falun Gong, and that this was a case of astonishing conspiracy and murder. The Chinese delegation did not respond when presented with the evidence. The statement is now part of the UN's official records.
What's more embarrassing for the CCP and CCTV is that the movie False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception, which analyzes the 2001 Tiananmen Square "self-immolation" incident, won a Certificate of Honorable Mention at the 51st Columbus International Film & Video Festival on November 8, 2003.
The CCTV annual Spring Festival Evening Show has become the nation's laughing stock: its programs are vulgar and filled with political propaganda. Each year's show is ridiculed and mocked by the Chinese people. It was disclosed that CCTV used recorded applause and fabricated the viewer surveys to make people believe that the show was well-liked. At the time of publishing this article, CCTV is yet to officially respond to this remark. People say that those who go against their conscience and deceive the general public for a long time will not have good futures. They believe that it's good to eliminate a poisonous source that helps the totalitarian CCP spread its lies and deceive its people.
CCTV is used to playing with fire. This time it got burned. Thoughtful people consider this a fire of karmic retribution--a warning sign that should not be overlooked.
